12 day Andalucia itinerary questions
 

Planning a trip to Southern Spain with 12 touring days. Need advice about itinerary direction. First idea:
Fly to Madrid and head straight to Granada by train or flight and do 1 1/2 days in Granada.
Rent car and explore Cordoba maybe 2 nights and then stay in countryside and explore Ubeda, Baez and Priego de Cordoba area for 3 -4 days. Then Seville 3 days. Then back to Madrid and day trip to Toledo beofre flying out of Madrid home.

OR

Head to Seville first, then Granada, Cordoba, the Subettica region then back to Mardird wtih day trip to Toledo.

Not sure which direction makes more sense. Also not sure if this is a long enough trip to do some pueblos blancos as well as Ubeda/Baeza .

We want to have a car for part of the trip to explore smaller places.
Also wondering if anyone has suggestions for private tours for the Jewish history in Toledo, Cordoba or Seville.

Where are you flying in from. It makes for a long day if flying internationally on an overnight flight. The time of year will also have an impact, weather, daylight hours, etc, but overall, you're trying to cover too much ground with too little time.

Just right off the bat, I would spend more time in Granada, than Cordoba, maybe switch the days you have allocated for each. We drove from Sevilla to Cordoba and arrived in Cordoba around 2, and because the operating hours for the Mezquite were longer, we were able to spend time there, walk around the town and go and explore the Jewish neighborhood a bit and have dinner there, then explored a little bit more early in the morning and left feeling we got a little sense of the place. Definitely many maany much more to see and explore in Granada. Just the Alhambra alone...speaking of which, make sure that you get your tickets WAY ahead of time, before you even depart for your trip.

If you´re planning on hiring a car, which I´d always recommend, I´d suggest you hire one from Madrid, drive down and stay overnight in Toledo then head down to Ubeda and Baeza.

The official Pueblos Blancos are quite a way off your agenda, but almost every town/village is a pueblo blanco so why not see some around Cazorla the largest natural park in Spain on Ubeda´s doorstep.

Then head via Jaen which its fabulous cathedral and castle/hotel overlooking the city to Granada. Then over to Seville and back to Madrid via Cordoba. Priego de Cordoba could be added going to Granada or away from it.

Rachel

If you only have 12 days then I agree you're trying to squeeze in too much to visit the places you want in Andalucia and Madrid. For example I'd budget 4 nights each for Madrid and Sevilla and 2 for Granada so this only leaves you 2 days. If you cut Madrid this could work and you could fly into Malaga. What time of year is this trip?

Cathy is right! Also I never rent a car unless you absolutely must make long boring drives ending with stressful navigation of ancient cities built way before cars. If you must visit a Pueblo Blanco rent a car for a day from Seville and visit Ronda and one of the surrounding smaller towns like Grazalema.

Thank you all....so now I am a bit clearer on our goals
1. great old Spanish architecture (could we skip Madrid and still get this in Seville)
2. some small town/villages (is there a way to fit in a day trip to Ronda or Grazelema) and also do Ubeda/Baeza (open to a car for a few days)
3. Toleda, Granada and Cordoba
4. Jewish history
12 touring days (outside of travel/flying days)
Thinking of flying in and out of Madrid from Boston nonstop

ideas of routes and order of destinations is helpful.